Russian regional authorities are reportedly ordering businesses to supply employees for military service in Ukraine or hand over large sums of money instead, as the Kremlin seeks to sustain recruitment without announcing a new nationwide mobilisation. Documents obtained by independent broadcaster TV Rain (Dozhd) suggest the system is already operating in at least one Russian region, with claims it is being replicated across the country as Moscow struggles to replace mounting battlefield losses. Recruitment Quotas Reach the Workplace According to TV Rain, officials in the Muysky District of Russia's Buryatia region have issued a "2026 Plan for the Selection of Candidates for Contract Military Service" setting recruitment targets for local employers. The document reportedly details the size of each workforce, the number of men aged between 20 and 60, and how many employees each business is expected to provide for military service. Local officials are said to receive quotas from regional authorities before distributing them among companies. Pay Instead of Providing Staff Businesses unwilling to send workers are reportedly being offered an alternative: paying for a recruitment service tasked with finding contract soldiers. TV Rain says employers are being pressured into signing contracts worth around 100,000 roubles per recruit, while other business owners claim the cost has risen to as much as 450,000 roubles per person under newer arrangements. One Siberian businessman alleged firms refusing to comply risk inspections and official pressure. The reported scheme also extends to public institutions. A district hospital in Buryatia has allegedly been ordered to provide two staff members despite an existing shortage of healthcare workers. Pressure Mounts Over Manpower The reported measures come as Russia continues relying on contract recruitment to avoid the political fallout of another mass mobilisation. Ukrainian intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov has said Russia possesses the capability to launch a mobilisation on the scale of 2022 if required. However, Ukraine's commander-in-chief, Oleksandr Syrskyi, has suggested the Kremlin is unlikely to take that step immediately, with any wider mobilisation more likely after Russia's State Duma elections expected later this year. If the reports are accurate, the latest recruitment drive signals growing pressure on regional authorities and employers alike as Moscow searches for fresh manpower while attempting to shield the wider public from the political cost of an expanded draft. Russian businesses told to send workers to fight in Ukraine or pay up
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